GUELPH, Ont. – Friday night at Varsity Field (7:30pm) the Guelph Gryphons women's rugby team will play host to the McMaster Marauders in an OUA semi-final matchup. The winner books a spot in the OUA gold medal game and also earns a berth to nationals (Oct. 30-Nov. 3 in Ottawa). 

The three-time defending OUA champion Gryphons will officially look to take one step closer to making it four straight OUA titles as they host the Marauders on Friday night. The Gryphons posted a 3-1 record during their regular season, including a 49-12 season-opening victory in Hamilton over the Marauders back on August 31.
 
For Gryphon head coach Colette McAuley, Friday night's matchup versus McMaster will serve as a good test for the defending champion Gryphons, "Mac has been improving each game and have some talented players," says McAuley, a three-time U SPORTS Coach of the Year (2008, 2015 & 2017). "Their flyhalf (Tia Svoboda) has the ability to move the ball wide quickly, so we will have to make sure we do our best to shut that down. For us, managing injuries has been our biggest obstacle this year, but thanks to the depth of talent on this team, we've been able to try several players in different positions. That ability to adapt to the team's needs makes us a resilient team for all 80 minutes."
 
One of the players who has had to manage injuries in 2019 is fifth-year senior Julia Schell, who missed a pair of regular season games due to injury.

The three-time All-Canadian will be back in the lineup Friday night in what will likely be her final game on Varsity Field (should top-seeded Queen's beat Brock). "I definitely feel pretty emotional heading into my last game on Varsity Field," says Schell, who also represented Team Canada this past summer at the FISU games in Italy. "Going into this game, we're looking to leave without any points left on the field. We've grown so much as a team, and as individuals, since the beginning of the season. The key to beating Mac on Friday is work rate. We've been working really hard at increasing our speed of the game, both defensively and offensively, and it's really coming together. I'm looking forward to competing one last time on Varsity Field and can't wait to lineup on home soil one last time alongside my sisters."
 
The winner of Friday night's Guelph-McMaster matchup will move on to the OUA gold medal match to face the winner of Queen's-Brock.